The update brought features like the Journal app, Contact Key Verification and more to your iPhone.
On March 5, Apple released iOS 17.4 with some new features such as additional Stolen Device Protection settings. However, the previous update, iOS 17.2, released in December, had many new and useful features that you might have missed out on. It included over a dozen features, including the highly anticipated Journal app and Contact Key Verification. It also had some fun features such as the ability to react to messages with Live Stickers.
Here are the features you may have missed in iOS 17.2.
The Journal app
Apple has released the Journal app with iOS 17.2 after it was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference event in June alongside iOS 17. However, it wasn’t available during the update’s launch on Sept. 18.
During the WWDC event, Apple announced that the app now incorporates on-device machine learning to provide customized writing suggestions. These suggestions are generated based on the information stored on your iPhone, such as the photos you have taken and the music and podcasts you have listened to throughout the day. If you happen to forget which podcast you listened to earlier in the day, the app will display that information when you attempt to create an entry.
The app also shows you a handful of topics to write about, called Reflections. Some of mine included, “Write about a time you gave someone an unexpected gift,” and “Who cheers you up when you’re feeling down?”
If you don’t want to write about whatever you listened to or use a Reflection, you can just write by tapping the New Entry button. In New Entry, you can write whatever you want, create a voice note, take a photo or create a video to add to your journal entry.
You can also lock the app after it’s closed for a set amount of time for some privacy. If you close the app and don’t reopen it for a certain amount of time (like five minutes) it will ask for your Face ID or passcode to open it again.
Contact Key Verification in Messages
Apple announced Contact Key Verification in December 2022, and the security feature finally appeared in iOS 17.2.
“With iMessage Contact Key Verification, users who face extraordinary digital threats — such as journalists, human rights activists and members of government — can choose to further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend,” Apple said in a news release last year.
Apple wrote that many people won’t be the target of a cyberattack, but Contact Key Verification gives people who might be a target an additional security layer.
React with Live Stickers
Live Stickers is a new feature introduced by Apple in iOS 13. The feature allows you to create your own stickers using pictures you’ve taken. With the release of iOS 13.2, you can now react to texts in Messages with your Live Stickers. To react with a Live Sticker, simply long-press on a text like you would to add a reaction. Then, tap “Add Sticker” in the dropdown menu to pull up your stickers.
New Apple Music settings
If you have an Apple Music subscription, which costs $11 per month, iOS 17.2 now enables you to add your favorite songs to your library automatically. If you don’t prefer this option, you can disable it by going to Settings > Music and turning off the toggle next to “Add Favorite Songs.”
More Memoji customization
In the latest version of iOS 17.2, an additional menu has been added to the Memoji editor. It’s called “Body” and allows you to modify the appearance of your Memoji’s body. This new feature allows you to adjust the waist, bust, shoulders, and arms of your Memoji. However, keep in mind that only three options are available in each of these sections for now. So, this feature doesn’t provide a full character creation menu like the ones you would find in a video game.
Change your default notification sounds and haptics
In iOS 17.2, Apple allows you to change the default notification sound. This is the first time Apple has allowed iPhone users to change the default notification sound. To change this sound, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Default Alerts, and you’ll be able to select new and classic tones.
In the Default Alerts menu, you can also change your haptics by tapping Haptics near the top of the page. Here you can choose between a handful of haptic patterns, and you can create a custom haptic by tapping Create New Vibration.
Photos and Apple Music working together
If you go into the Photos app after updating to iOS 17.2, Photos will ask permission to access your Apple Music library. The screen says it will use songs from your library to curate songs for your Memories.
AppleCare and Warranty menu
In iOS 17.2, if you go to Settings > General you’ll see a new option called AppleCare and Warranty. If you tap into this option, you’ll see all of your devices that are or aren’t covered under AppleCare or a warranty. In previous betas, this option was called Coverage.
Catch-up arrow in Messages
A new feature in iOS 17.2 can help you understand what’s happening in a texting group or if someone sends you a lot of messages. The beta brings the catch-up arrow back to Messages, so if you wake from a nap with a lot of messages, you can jump to the beginning of the new messages and follow the drama for context.
The catch-up arrow was in some early iOS 17 betas, but it has been absent since.
New options for sharing Contact Posters
In iOS 17.2, you can now share your Contact Poster through Phone and FaceTime. If you go to Settings and either Phone or FaceTime, you will see an option called Share Name and Photo. Tap this and you can select whether to automatically share your Contact Poster with your contacts or whether to require your phone to always ask before sharing. This feature was only in Message before.
iPhone 15 Pro action button updated
With the new iOS 17.2 update, the iPhone 15 Pro now has a translate function accessible through its action button. This new function allows for quick translation of phrases and conversations in different languages.
Sharing content between your iPhone and Apple Vision Pro
In June, during WWDC, Apple revealed its upcoming Vision Pro headset. Although the headset won’t be available in the US until early 2024, iOS 17.2 now includes a new setting that enables your iPhone to function as an additional screen for the headset. This feature allows users to experience enhanced visuals and an immersive experience when using the Vision Pro headset.
The setting is called AirPlay Receiver and can be found under AirPlay & Handoff in Settings. Apple writes that AirPlay Receiver allows you to stream or share content from your Vision Pro headset to your iPhone.
Spatial Video recording for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
Apple has introduced a new feature in iOS 17.2 that enables users of iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max to record Spatial Video. This feature will allow the video to be viewed in 3D on the upcoming Vision Pro headset. Moreover, the Spatial Videos can also be viewed as normal videos in the Photos app.
Disable inline predictions on your keyboard
Have you ever experienced a situation where a gray word appears in front of your cursor while you are typing a text message? This is known as inline text predictions. If you find this feature confusing or annoying, there is good news for you. With the latest iOS 17.2 update, you can now disable this feature.
More Sensitive Content Warnings
In iOS 17, Apple introduced Sensitive Content Warnings to blur out images and videos that might contain nudity. With the latest iOS 17.2 update, these warnings have been expanded to also include live stickers and contact posters that may contain nudity, ensuring that users are protected from inappropriate content.
More Siri requests
In iOS 17.2, you can ask Siri a few new questions, like what your altitude is and what’s your estimated arrival time if you’re using the voice assistant for directions.
Updated Weather widget and app
In earlier versions of iOS, there were three options available for a Weather widget. These included a small tile, a medium tile bar, and a large tile that took up half of your screen. As the size of the widget increased, it displayed more detailed information about the current weather conditions.
With iOS 17.2, you have six widgets to choose from. The first three are the original small, medium and large tiles. The three new widgets are all the same size as the small tile, but show more details for the day.
One tile shows the current condition, precipitation, UV index, wind levels and air quality index. Another tile shows the current conditions plus the expected conditions for the next four days. The final new tile shows when you can expect the sunrise and sunset.
The app also has a few new features, like an interactive moon calendar, the amount of rain for your area over time, and wind speed and direction. The updated Weather app is like having your own meteorologist in your pocket.
New digital clock widget
In iOS 17.2, the clock widget gets an update as well. The widget now gives you the option for a digital clock to easily read the time.
News app supports Live Activities
With iOS 17.2 update, the News app now offers Live Activities feature. This feature allows you to follow news events such as elections on Live Activity-enabled iPhones.
Apple TV app updated
The top menu of the Apple TV app is updated in iOS 17.2, removing the Movies and TV Shows sections from the Store.
Local Awareness option in Emergency Alerts
With iOS 17.1, there’s a new option in the Emergency Alerts menu called Local Awareness. Apple writes that if you enable this option, it uses your approximate location to improve the accuracy, timeliness and reliability of emergency alerts you receive.
More Contact Poster customization options
Contact Posters can now be customized in iOS 17.2 with rainbow-colored text.
Here are the full release notes for iOS 17.2:
About This Update
Journal
Journal is a new app that lets you write about the small moments and big events in your life so you can practice gratitude and improve your wellbeing.
Journaling suggestions make it easy to remember your experiences by intelligently grouping your outings, photos, workouts, and more into moments you can add to your journal.
Filters let you quickly find bookmarked entries or show entries with attachments so you can revisit and reflect on key moments in your life.
Scheduled notifications help you keep a consistent journaling practice by reminding you to write on the days and time you choose.
Option to lock your journal using Touch ID or Face ID.
iCloud sync keeps your journal entries safe and encrypted on iCloud.
Action Button
Translate option for the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to quickly translate phrases or have a conversation with someone in another language.
Camera
Spatial video lets you capture video on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max so you can relive your memories in three dimensions on Apple Vision Pro.
Improved Telephoto camera focusing speed when capturing small faraway objects on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Messages
Catch-up arrow lets you easily jump to your first unread message in a conversation by tapping the arrow visible in the top-right corner.
Add sticker option in the context menu lets you add a sticker directly to a bubble.
Memoji updates include the ability to adjust the body shape of any Memoji.
Contact Key Verification provides automatic alerts and Contact Verification Codes to help verify people facing extraordinary digital threats are messaging only with the people they intend.
Weather
Precipitation amounts help you stay on top of rain and snow conditions for a given day over the next 10 days.
New widgets let you choose from next-hour precipitation, daily forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and current conditions such as Air Quality, Feels Like and wind speed.
Wind map snapshot helps you quickly assess wind patterns and access the animated wind map overlay to prepare for forecasted wind conditions for the next 24 hours.
Interactive moon calendar lets you easily visualize the phase of the moon on any day for the next month.
This update also includes the following improvements and bug fixes:
Siri support for privately accessing and logging Health app data using your voice.
AirDrop improvements including expanded contact sharing options and the ability to share boarding passes, movie tickets, and other eligible passes by bringing two iPhones together.
Favorite Songs Playlist in Apple Music lets you quickly get back to the songs you mark as favorites.
Use Listening History in Apple Music can be disabled in a Focus so music you listen to does not appear in Recently Played or influence your recommendations.
A new Digital Clock Widget lets you quickly catch a glimpse of the time on your Home Screen and while in StandBy.
Enhanced AutoFill can now recognize and auto-populate fields in PDFs and other forms by pulling information from your contact list.
New keyboard layouts provide support for 8 Sámi languages.
Sensitive Content Warning for stickers in Messages prevents you from being unexpectedly shown a sticker containing nudity.
Qi2 charger support for all iPhone 13 models and iPhone 14 models.
Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles.
Some features may not be available on all Apple devices or regions. For information about the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
